It is now well-known to utilize an airway for the purpose of aiding the breathing of unconscious patients. Reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,521, which issued June 3, 1952 to the present inventor, for a description of a conventional airway now known in medical practice as the Berman Oral Airway. The Berman Oral Airway, and later devices modelled after it, is employed in the practice of surgery and medicine by insertion in the mouth and pharynx of a patient to provide a channel for respiratory purposes, particularly in unconscious patients. It is the purpose of the airway to prevent respiratory difficulty by preventing collapse of the pharynx walls or obstruction of the pharynx by the tongue.
The Berman Oral Airway and later such devices are available to the medical profession in a number of different sizes for use in infants, small children, children, medium adults and large adults. However, each size constitutes a unitary member which may not itself be adjusted in size, shape, or contour. Thus, conventional airways are substantially rigid structures which may not be altered in use to fit particular patients, particular problems or particular changes in patient condition or position.